SunRail And Brightline Agree Deal To Extend Rail Service From Airport To Central Florida Attractions

SunRail and Brightline have agreed a deal that will see rail services extend from Orlando International Airport through Orlando to Tampa, with stops serving Universal Orlando Resort, International Drive, SeaWorld Orlando, the Orange County Convention Center, and Walt Disney World.

Through this new partnership, Brightline would lease rights to SunRail for an east-west corridor connecting the airport to SunRail’s current north-south tracks, the Orange County Convention Center, and south International Drive, with Brightline building its own tracks from the Walt Disney World Resort area to Tampa.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has hosted dozens of meeting between Brightline, Universal Studio, which would be served by the new plan, and other interested parties to break a deadlock over the planned Brightline extension.

Dyer says the extension would be the beginning of an east-west route for the currently north-south SunRail, which serves 16 stations on a 49-mile route in four counties. Service to the airport would also require the commuter operator to increase frequencies, run later at night, and operate on weekends, he said. Currently, the Monday-through-Friday service operates on 30-minute headways during peak periods, and less frequently at other times. The new plan, called the “Sunshine Corridor Program,” would see trains every 15 minutes on the airport route.

U.S. Rep. Darren Soto (D-Kissimmee) said he has told the parties they must reach a decision by this summer to be in position to compete for federal funding: “Those first announcements for rail and for highways are going to be big ones, the biggest in the nation. We want to make sure there is consensus locally because it’s so competitive. If we don’t have consensus it’s going to be very difficult.”

Brightline spokeswoman Christine Kefauver said the plan is “the type of big vision project that Central Florida needs and one that will improve the quality of life for Central Floridians while ensuring an economic advantage for decades.”

SunRail’s service currently spans 49 miles and 16 stations in Volusia, Seminole, Orange, and Osceola counties.

Brightline is near finishing their rail from South Florida to Orlando International Airport. Service is scheduled to begin next year.